The present invention relates to a automatic accident informing apparatus for a two-wheel vehicle and particularly to an accident informing apparatus for detecting the accident of a two-wheel vehicle with the use of a simple arrangement but not an acceleration sensor and automatically informing of the accident.
Disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publications (Showa) 58-16399 and (Heisei) 5-5626 are automatic accident informing apparatuses for, when a vehicle have an accident, automatically informing of the accident to quickly receive a first aid.
According to the prior arts, the accident is detected by an acceleration sensor mounted a vehicle when a significant degree of acceleration is sensed and an emergency signal is transmitted together with data of the position of the vehicle by a radio communicating means to a predetermined station. As the acceleration sensors provided for an air-bag safety system are used as accident sensors for detecting the accident, the number of components and the overall weight will be decreased, thus minimizing the cost of the apparatus.
The prior arts are however developed for four-wheel vehicles and can hardly be applied to two-wheel vehicles. Because the existing two-wheel vehicles are commonly provided with no air-bag safety system, the acceleration sensors have to be mounted separately. Additionally, the accident of the two-wheel vehicles includes not only a crash but also a fall down. The level of acceleration at the fall down may be smaller than that at the crash. It is hence difficult to determine whether the accident is a crash or a fall down with the use of a single acceleration sensor. As a result, either different sensing range types or an advanced, expensive, wider sensing range type of the acceleration sensor have to be used.
When a high level of sensing signal is output from the acceleration sensor, it have to be examined whether it is due to the serious accident or a minor incident such as running over a step-stone and requires a post signal process such as sophisticated waveform analysis.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic accident informing apparatus for a two-wheel vehicle which can detect the occurrence of an accident with the use of a simple arrangement but not any acceleration sensor.
For achievement of the object, an automatic accident informing apparatus for a two-wheel vehicle which includes an accident detecting means for detecting an accident of the vehicle and an accident informing means for informing an external party(s) of the accident is adapted having the following features according to the present invention.
(1) The accident detecting means comprises: an inclination sensor for measuring the inclination angle of the vehicle; and an accident judging means for judging that the vehicle met with the accident when the inclination angle of the vehicle measured by the inclination sensor remains higher than a predetermine degree throughout a specific length of time.
As the accident such as a crash or fall down of a two-wheel vehicle is detected from a signal output of the inclination sensor, the overall arrangement can be more simplified than that using an acceleration sensor. Also, most two-wheel vehicles are equipped with the inclination sensor and will thus require no particular sensors for the accident judgment.
It is judged that the vehicle met with an accident when the inclination angle of the vehicle remains higher than the predetermine degree throughout the specific length of time. If the vehicle is fell down in its non-running mode and stood back quickly by the driver, it is not judged that the vehicle met with the accident. As a result, an unnecessary information will be avoided.
(2) Another apparatus comprises: a vehicle speed history saving means for saving the history of speeds of the vehicle; an acceleration calculating means for calculating the acceleration of the vehicle from a vehicle speed saved in the vehicle speed history saving means; and a line break detecting means for detecting the break in particular circuitry line, wherein the accident detecting means judges that the vehicle met with the accident when the line break detecting means detects a break in the circuitry line about a time while the acceleration of the vehicle is greater than a predetermined level.
When the break in the particular circuitry lines is detected, it is judged that the vehicle met with an accident. Accordingly, the action of informing of the accident can be carried out automatically even if the signal line of a sensor for detecting the accident is injured by the accident.